Turn Your Ballot Over & Vote YES, NO, NO - because more people should run for office.... giving us a choice and civic engagement is a responsibility and a choice!

Ballot proposal #1; Campaign Finance Alterations

Vote YES:

Raising the amount of public matching funds makes running for an elected official in New York City a reality for someone who is not financed by less than transparent, less than desirable interests.

Ballot Proposal #2; Civic Engagement Proposal

Vote NO:

Letting the Mayor appoint a ‘civic engagement commission’ gives him the power to pick his pals to come up with vague goals for ‘community participation’ in citywide issues. It’s a great thought to get more people involved with their community and civic engagement is near and dear to our heart. We have watched this mayor shut out a good deal of community participation is a number of issues he believes are more important to solve his way. He and his appointed agency heads have continually ignored many communities, so why should we believe he has noble intentions with this proposal?.

Ballot Proposal #3; Term limits on Community Boards

Vote NO;

Appointed community board members have to apply, to the Borough President, for board membership every two years, at which time they might not be re-appointed. So why would term limits be appropriate?

Cutting power to the community boards only increases the power of the mayor. It’s not good. Community board members include civic leaders, business executives and residents with legacy, historical perspective. Those appointed leaders are the last line of defense for civic engagement in neighborhoods.

Donation dollars affect nearly every level of government except the community board, which is operated by a district manager and fifty volunteers who are appointed by both he borough president and council representatives. Those who have witnessed a community board manage a developer asking to break a zoning code to build more than what is appropriate, can see the total transparency necessary to ensure that one person (either the mayor, council person or state representative) can’t negotiate behind closed doors.

We have seen board members fall asleep during meetings, so we think one concession should be made; If a board member falls asleep during a meeting for two consecutive meetings, he or she can be removed for cause.